• Yemen: Unlawful Attacks, Denial of Medical Care in Taizz
    Press release
    Feb 8, 2012
    Yemeni security forces stormed and shelled hospitals, evicted patients at gunpoint, and beat medics during an assault on Yemen’s protest movement that killed at least 120 people in the flashpoint city of Taizz last year. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is in the United States receiving medical treatment, received amnesty in Yemen for such attacks.
  • Iran: Arrest Sweeps Target Arab Minority
    Press release
    Feb 7, 2012
    Iranian security forces arrested more than 65 Arab residents during security sweeps in Iran’s Arab-majority Khuzestan province since late 2011 according to local activists. The Iranian government should immediately charge or release those arrested. Authorities should also investigate reports by local activists that two detainees have died in Intelligence Ministry detention facilities in the past week.
  • Iran: Stop Holding Reporters’ Relatives Hostage
    Press release
    Feb 2, 2012

    The Iranian government has been intimidating and detaining relatives and friends of foreign-based Persian-language journalists to obtain information or silence them.

  • Pakistan: Shahzad Commission Results Marred by Free Ride for ISI
    Press release
    Jan 30, 2012

    The Pakistani government should redouble efforts to find the killers of the journalist Saleem Shahzad, following the failure of the judicial inquiry commission to identify those responsible .

  • UAE: Free Speech Under Attack
    Press release
    Jan 25, 2012
    The United Arab Emirates during 2011 muzzled the right of its citizens to express themselves and to form independent associations, Human Rights Watch said today in issuing its World Report 2012 at a news conference in Dubai.
  • Tunisia: “Persepolis” Trial a Setback for Free Expression
    Press release
    Jan 25, 2012

    The trial of a television director on morality charges for airing a controversial animated film is a disturbing turn for the nascent Tunisian democracy. On January 23, 2012, a Tunis court announced that Nabil Karoui, director of Nessma TV, will go on trial on April 19 for airing the French animated movie “Persepolis.”

  • Universal Periodic Review of South Africa
    Written statement
    Jan 20, 2012

    South Africa has failed to clarify its position on the 22 recommendations made during the first UPR cycle in 2008 – making the assessment of the implementation problematic.  South Africa should clearly communicate its responses and commitments on all recommendations made during its second UPR cycle. 

  • Egypt: National and International Human Rights Organizations are Under Attack
    Press release
    Dec 29, 2011
    The undersigned organizations are deeply concerned about reports of attacks against NGOs in Egypt. Egyptian security forces, in uniform and in civilian clothes, as well as public prosecutors, are reported to have stormed the offices of six NGOs this Thursday 29 December 2011: the Arab Center for Independence of Justice and Legal Professions (ACIJP) the Budgetary and Human Rights Observatory, Future Centre for Judicial Studies, the Cairo and Assuit offices of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the International Republic Institute (IRI), and Freedom House. Egyptian public TV and radio stations announced later on the same day that security forces have raided the offices of 17 organizations, mostly human rights organizations. However, none of the news sources have identified these organizations or the reasons behind storming their offices.
  • Turkey's human rights challenges
    Commentary
    Dec 19, 2011
    Turkey's standing in the region is growing, but its international credibility should be in doubt as long as it fails to address its human rights record, especially in regard to the large Kurdish minority.
  • Angola: End Violence Against Peaceful Protests
    Press release
    Dec 7, 2011
    The Angolan government should end its use of unnecessary force, including by plainclothes agents, against peaceful anti-government protests